Moving message sign



Sept. 7, 1943. A A SSQ 2,328,648

MOVING MESSAGE SIGN Filed Aug. 9, 1940 MOVING MESEQGE' v vzzz ZHZ INVENTOR ARV/0 Jar/s50 Y ,5 A un ,fur ther oh'ect A Patented Sept. 7 1943 MOVINGMESSAGE SIGN Arvid .la-nsson, Wilkinsburg, Pa. Application August 9, 1940,) Serial N 351,951

b 12 Claims.

My invention relates,general1y; to illuminated signs and, more particularly, to electric signs of the moving message type w ere the messa to be conveyed is produced bymovingabontin- @uous tape or belt inllfront of a light source or an illuminated area. a l .Heretofore, many attempts have. been made .to produce a sign of this type but such prior devices vhave notbeen successful for a number of rea- .sons,'chi-eflybecause they were of complicated construction; "expensive to manufacture and maintain in satisfactory operating condition, were-not reliable and of fool-proof construction, and did not function to eflect a smooth and steady movement of the message carrying tape or belt past the light source or illuminated area. Accordingly, it is the object of "my invention, generally stated, to provide an illuminated sign .of the-moving message type which shall be of simple and rugged construction'which may be riods of time to convey the .message carrie'dby the belt or tape in a smooth and teady manner. A more specific object of my "invention is to provide a sign of the character described wherein the moving tape is continuously actuated by means of a pair of cooperating-grooved rollers or t-cogwheels only one of ,which is positively driven.

v for .effiectingsmooth and steady movement of the continuous tape or belt by drawing it from the magazine. through a clearing-out guide and applying aback tension thereto after it leaves the guide and before it passes in .front of p the light source. r r t A further object oflvmyinvention is to provide if or pulling the continuous tape from vthe .magae zine: by means of a pair of cooperating .coglike rollerswhich feed ordischar-ge the tape directly" intothemagazine. i r r A stilllf-urther object, of .the invention is to ,provide for straightening and guiding the folds of the tape from, the magazine by means of a clearing-out guide which is movable lengthwise 'of the magazine to vary the effective length or capacity thereof, and which 'isso .shapedand cori- I structedlasitovefiectively cause the pulled tape ,to be gradually unfolded and lstraighte'ned out "as it leaves the magaz'ine. t L

or the inventionfis to provide. a sign of the'character described wherein .the moving message is conveyed in a to "provide a rippling efiect to give it an anirn ted economically manufactured and maintained in operation, and which shall function over long pe- 7 I i 7 1:3 .Anothere-bject of my invention is to provide "appearance and thereby increase its attractiveness and appeal to those who are viewing it. [Another' object of the invention is to provide a drive mechanism for the endless belt of a sign ofthis character which utilizes a pair of cooper-n a'ting groovedrollers or cogwheels between which "the belt passes; one of which is positively driven and the other functioning as a floatin roller.

' LThese" and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent when the followingvdetailed description is considerd in conjunction with the drawing in which;

"Figure :13 isfa front view in elevation of a sign I embodying the principal features of my inventionr v t. 1 v

Fig. '2" is atop view of the sign with the top cover removed; n

Fig. '3 is anenlarged view in elevation of one ofthe coglike rollers shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged top view of the fluted rollers; n n p.

"Figs; 5; 6 and '7 are top, side and end views, "respectively, of the clearing-out'guide shown in Fig. 2;

725v Fig.,8 jig a cross section view' inelevation of thejsignjtaken along line VIII-'VIII of Fig.2;

7 ,Fig'. .9 is a view in elevation of the drag roller of "Fig.1 showing the detail thereof. b 1

,A sign constituting the preferred embodiment of myinventicn comprises an elongated housing with an elongated opening in the front thereof covered by a glass or other transparent material, preferably having a ripple finish on the outside thereof. a A suitable light source preferably in the form vnot a tubular lamp, either of the filament or gaseousfldischarge type, is mounted behind the glass in'spaced relation thereto and a suitable reflector utilized to direct light upon the glass. 40 .An elongated compalftment or magazine is. provided within the casing to receive the surplus f folds ct an endless tape or belt which is perforated to providethe desired message. The tape is drivbyjrneans of a pair of cooperating grooved rollers or icogwheels only one of which ispositively w i'the magazine where it accumulates in folds f r-1am and is pulled from the other end of the ,magazine through a clearing-cut guide over one morelnplain rollers, one of which is provided lwitha brake to place a slight tension on the Qtape, andlbetween the'flight source and front cover glass and over another plain roller into "the grooved rollers or cogwheels The tape is uniform folds in th'ebelt and held in a vertical position as it passes by the illuminated window by means of the tension applied, and also by a plurality of guide wires stretched along the front of the light source to provide a narrow vertical guide channel.

Referring now to the drawing, a sign constructed in accordance with the principles of my invention may comprise an elongated rectangular casing it provided with a'front window or opening H covered by a suitable light transmitting medium it, .as plate glass or the like. The casing may be constructed of any suitable material, and is preferably provided with a re- .movable top cover to give access to the mecha--- nism i3 housed within.

The operating mechanism of the sign is shown To obtain the proper unfolding of the belt M as it is pulled out of the magazine, .there is provided a clearing-out guide 3| which may be posi' tioned along the length of the magazine to provide the necessary effective space for the excess belt.

The construction of the guide 3| is also an important feature of the invention as its function is to'properly guide the belt from the magazine in a smooth and steady manner and gradually straighten out the folds which-have been formed therein by the feed rollers.

It is preferably constructed of a length of Wire bent into the shape best in Fig. 2 and comprises an endless belt I4 and a pair of cooperating feed rollers l5 and I6,

preferably in the nature of cogwheels, for actuating the belt in acontinuous manner pastthe front window. i L Y v r The belt M maybe made of any suitable material vsuch for, example, as book-makers cloth, which is flexible and durable and which Will withstand bending and folding and not be appreciably affected by heat. The characters I which go to'makefupthe message to be conveyed by the sign when in operation. are formed by perforating the belt, so that a light source placed behind the belt will cause the characters to become illuminated. I c

The grooved feed rollers or cogwheels l5 and I ll; which drive the belt It, may be driven by a motor I8 mounted within the casing, as'shown,

and connected in driving relation therewith through theshaft l9 and a worm 2|] and worm wheel 2|, the latterbeing shownin Fig. 3. In this'instance, only one of the rollers 5 is driven and the other operates as" an idling or floating I,

The idling roller 98 cooperates with-the roller. driven roller i5 in such manner as to effect a 1 positive drive of the belt without slippage as it functions to provide a wedging action,of the teeth or grooves of the rollers upon the belt. This .action causes the rollers totake a positive grip upon the belt, which results in a positive driving action and the teeth or cogs of the rollers make cause it to move in astraight line. I p An important, feature of the invention is. the

I construction of the feed rollers which, as shown in Figs.:2,, 3, and ,4, are grooved or creased longitudinallyto provide teeth oflappreciable depth in order to readily grip and pull the belt. They maybe mounted in spaced loosely intermeshing relation on the vertically dispose-d shafts 22 and 23 which'are attached to the bottom, of the casing in any suitable manner. The bands or stripper guides '24 which engage the cylindrical spaces 25 between the grooved ;or teethed sections .26 and whiehare attached to the vertical. supports Z'lfunction to cause'the belt i4 toibej properly A dischargedfrom the feed rollers and'prev'ent it U from becoming tangled or carried rollers so asto jam themechanism.

In crderto provide for storing or collecting, the

I excess length of belt, the'casing is provided with a. compartment which may be termed a maga zine. As shown in Fig. 2,,thefeed rollers |5 and I lliare positioned at one end of the magazin'ejd, and discharge thebelt directly therein i'n folds. When'the belt is pulled by the feed rolle'r's' |5 and [5, it unfolds and feeds out of the opposite en'd ofthe magazine as will be described more...

in detail hereinafter.

shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7. The width of the guide is-such as to fill the space between the side walls 32 and 33 of the magazine, and it is of such length r as to permit the belt to unfold and straighten out properly as it passes therethrough. 1

With reference to Fig. 6, which is an end View of the guide, it will be seen that the entryvend". 'is V-shaped and formed -by the members 34and 35; and that thedischarge end'which is formed by vertical members 36 and 31 and spaced therefrom is in the'formbf a'slit of imiformlwidth. The purpose of this arrangement of entry and discharge parts of the guide 3| is tov permit a certain amount ofoscillatory'movement of the belt'while itjis' entering the guide in. order that .it will unfold properly; They portion functions I to provide this result and the slit finally brings 'thebelt into'the desired vertical or edg ewise operating positiong I In'order tosupp'ort and guide the belt I4 past the guidefrolls; 38 and 39in a vertical; position without subjecting it to too muchtension. As 'shown best Fig. 8; the-guide wires! through d l arepbsitioned in front of the belt and wires through-48 behind the belt longitudinally of the casing, todefine anarrcw path for'the belt 9 to follow. The guidewires may be conveniently supported by the vertical posts 49', 50, 5| and 52 fr'nounted" within" the casing. I pair of the posts ill-50, 5|- 52 may be pivotally If desired, either mounted so that one set of the guide wires may I be moved outwardly away from the belt to facili- "-tate threading the belt over the guide rollers 38 and 39. II I I y I I With a View to causing the belt to travel in'a steady manner and maintain a fairly straight line between the guide rollers 38 andv 39. provision is made for subjecting it to an adjustable tension by means of a tensioning or dragfroller' 53. over which the belt passes as it emerges from themagazine. This roller may also be mounted on a vertical post 54 and subjected'to a drag by meansof a washer 55 heldagainst the top of j the roller by a coil spring 55 disposed on the end I around the I of the post; the tension of which'is adjusted by a nut ET engaging the threaded end of the post. The belt also passes'over an idler roller .53

mounted adjacent the drag roller 53.

' In] order to provide for. illuminating the belt as it 'passe'sbehind the window to make the characters readable, a light source 59 is mounted i within the casing below the belt. and is pr'efer- Y ably, providedwith a reflector 6|. "Whilefany "suitable sourceof light may be used, it is preferable to useia n elongated lamp or plurality of,

such lamps mounted in end-to-end" relation,

whim effeotiwe y' flight .thei rmntwinuow .ozverrits entireilength inrarnniform-anannei'r z;

amas

lfiiitiiislmsiredrtorgiwef'themving messageicpn veyedzbythe belt alfipnlirrg appearance; the 'light transmitting icnver 4:2 array rheamadep of; :glas's; suchas 'iilolnnial .grass zshavmgaam ough ipple l :as rshetvnziiril igfi Inyiew hf itherfnregoing; 'wilhbe apparent cbhaltli have iprmuirledsamovingnhiessagei ear display device tor/shingle entilaltednbt't means or zafiaznnrihlcmaer iiiirrrounterl thexmomenlmnzism nf therbett-is f .sinmleiminstrmrtion and 'irunctions ito iprroyide 1 a positime; is'teady mill hi1 the belt; 1 use hi the sgmoveii tor meg.- -like .rreediarotlers possible to ioiat'ainii a msiitiue ran-rd pull inn thezhelt"withnut clamping? the: rollers nanny-trimmer supuni the opposite lsidesiiof ithfi b'llij amd iifiiielleby greatly reduces the ifriction =a'rrd' pnweriireqhired to ripen-- iaft'e' th8m. This is as; idistir ct tad-vantage f; in is desired :to operate stherstgn. continuously zover :long periods of time. :zrnemaane rififfihe admit/e, sand :spreciallytthe shape eif lth'e mined mollerazialso lengthens the lite o f"the belt imparts ate-it the proper :m ouement tn secure its ud'es'ire disftrtbution withirr' the inagazzirn'e The desired movement of th successful movement in and out oi the magazine rlesults' itihe parizinulaa': combination -oi:elements whioh make theniiiye mechanism, 'iziei, the igrooued mr ncdgtilre EBQGIWQIS, only some of which positively rdriyengthe h'tnlpgper guides,

the cleariihgmiiitrguide, the idraghreiller aarrdiythe wiresaxfl'flie zuse mi ithe rollerpa'nd guide stretched albilgythe i llmmihateduwin- LdDW makes-tit ipnssible rto bbtain tileadyedgewise mibnement \Gf i the doelt without rsubjectingziit to :excesspn'fl or-iiensiongby, the :feced IlQllGIismAEr uordinglm; the reed mllers areanet; overloaded and motion. easily: {at all tti-mes zto; s ove the belt iinl'arcontinuor sitashion. v' lfhe-natureief the teed or teat-heal contour (belies-it d s h r e nter masan net i ause i1 from jamming as it-leaves the feed rollers and the clearing-out guide to effectively unfold andstraighten the belt so that it will not jam or tangle as it leaves the magazine; i

Therefore, it willbe apparent that my invent-1 tion provides a moving message sign which has many outstanding structural and operational features not found in signs used heretofore, and which are important from the standpoint of successful and economical operation over long periods of time. a a g 3 While I have shown and described a particular embodiment of my invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modi fications may be made within thescope of the; invention, and I, therefore, aim in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications that fall within the true spirit and scopev of my invention. 1

term-seminarians:

. Awnroving messageis'igns'cnmprising aiela tively' tong endless ligchazracters l definedbwl perronations zfthereon, :ai' flight source, A mesnsemgummg. the belt past the :light source, aimagaziire for molding: the aexcess slack in the belt, marrs feractuating ithe Lbelt; andzoiieans tor guiding the I beilt out 013 the' =magazine;:said mearislbeingadiinstablyancuritedformovee rit elmng thefleng'thiof 'the miagazine.

A moving "message sign comprisingaa 1e18,.- ti 1y iong end-lessrbelt'haviing characters defined perforations therein? is light source, rnller embers ever the belt passes for guiding oi mad ge"' p as'the light source; :anna'gazine for receiving #and' holding the excess length 40f vbelt, means for pulling the belt out of the'magazine past-tire light source andzzdischarging Wit xback into mag-azine la continuous manner, and

guise means iiispos'ed i-n sa'id magazine and mot-- able allongf-the' "length thereof to adjust the efiece twe length of the' magazine' accordance with g, jlendles's lbelt' provided I with perfor-atedcharacterSImeansrOr illuminating a portheco i e oi travelof the beltmeans'ior g the belt-1 hiding 'a patirdbc'oglikefollers in united '"osel intermeshing [relation tore' eempns ei e'thet a-agu e rollerdisposed a't each'end of the 111 saseaeserse ortraveite guide the beltth nianedgewise'position *anda plur'a a of guide wares streamed along the shuntportion "of *the "(:"ourse on opposite s'i'des of lt'for su per rig the belt in an egewrse --conibi natidn H1 2. moVi-ngmessage Sig-B a g s endless-messagecarryingiclt mounted past' an i lluminated area of predetermined le'gth, a magazine for star-"mg the excfess lengthef belt in a folded condition, and means forf-drivingthe belt, or guide me ns arse "posed as the magazine and functioning- *to" assist fin e-aere ai ganw glitening operation of the elt a'sfit leaves th agazirie, said guide means*l ravinga Y-shaped' entrance portion and slop 'sh 'p" d' dischai gelportion, and a tens'io'ning r61 r rrgaging'the'belt betweentheguidemeans ago; braking action to )provide a pr c mea re offtabutness in the "belt as it it tithe nminmatecr areathereby to further "str a i'ghtenthebltand area asteady movem nt thereof.

5. The combination in a moving message sign having an endless message carrying belt mounted for movement into and out of a storage magazine past an illuminated area of predetermined length, of a pair of fluted rollers between which the belt passes for driving the belt, means for driving at least one of said rollers, said belt bein discharged into the magazine in a folded condition by said rollers, and guide means positioned within the magazine at its discharge end through which the belt passes while being pulled by the rollers for guiding the belt out of the magazine in a straightened condition, said guide means having spaced entry and discharge ends, the

entry end being V-shaped and the discharge end slit-shaped.

6. A moving message sign comprising, aniendless belt; a light source, and means for moving said 'beltpast the light source, said means including a pair of cooperating cog wheels rigidly {i1 a"t'ed -area emanate subject the mounted in loosely intermeshing: relatiomars'aid cog wheels having: relatively deep "tooth portions to providevfor gripping the belt over a relatively large areafiwhereby the' belt is'positively driven without clamping the 'cog'wheels,tightly'togethen' 1 a 7. A moving message sign comprising, an endless..belt,-' a light source; motor-operated-means for: moving said .belt. past. the light source; said means :including a pair of cooperating -coglike said 'belt being guidedv for movement in a prede-- termined manner pastian area of predetermined length, a light source positioned to illuminate the belt over said area, a magazine for accumulating the slack; inrthe belt, apair of cooperating coglike; rollersdisposed inintermeshing relation to engage the belt for pullingvit from themagazine pasttheilluminated area, means for driving one of-said rollers, and guide means mountedadja cent-"the rollers for positively guiding. the belt intothe magazineginafolded condition; I

9, A moving messagesign comprisingt an enfclosure having an elongated windowQa relatively long-jendless belt mounted for edgewise movement past the window, a magazine within the enclosure foraccumulating the belt, a light source mounted, within the enclosure for illuminating thebelt as it passes the window to produce-la display of the characters'on the belt, .a driving mechanism for the-belt including a pair of rigidly mounted cooperating cog-like rollers dis,- Lposed toengage the belt in an edgewise position, said rollers being disposed in loosely intermesh- "ing; relation, vanda plurality of stripper, guides mounted intermediate the end of the rollers for 'controllingthe discharge ofthe belt therefrom.

10. A movingmessage sign comprisingan enclosure having an elongated windowia relatively 'longendless belt mounted for edgewise movement past the window, a light source mounted within ;;theenclosure for illuminating the belt as it passes the window to produce a display of characters on ,the .belt, a magazinefor accumulating and holdzine and discharging it therein, said rollers 'hav ing; 'spacedsmoothsections intermediate their ends, guide members positioned in said"secti'ons' and extending outwardly toward the sides of the :magazine; and means forpositively driving vlone of said rollers to produce continuous movement of the belt, said other roller functioning as an idler and cooperating withi the. driven: roller to clamp the belttherebetween and discharge itt into the magazine in a folded condition;

11. A moving message sign comprising, a h ous ing having a light source therein'and awindow in one side thereof, aneendless belt having char acters defined by perforations therein and dis- 'posedfor movement between the light source and windowto display said characters, amagazine for holding the excess length of belt, means inolud ing intermeshing cog-like rollers for actuating the belt, said belt'tbeirig discharged into the mega- *zinc in alifold'ed condition, means engaged by,

the belt on the outlet end of the magazine for subjecting the belt to atension as itiszmoved past the: Window, and-a clearing out guide positioned within themagazine tocause the belt to be unfoldedin a straightened condition as it leaves the magazine, saidgulde being movablealong the length of the magazine to vary the effective length thereof in accordance with the, length of the endless belt being used. s I j 12. An electric sign of the moving message type comprising, an endless belt provided with perforated characters, meansfor illuminating a portion of the course of travel ofthe belt, means for driving thevbelt includinga, pair-of loosely intermeshing cog-like: rollers mounted in side-by-sid'e relationito receivethe belt and means 'fo-r' driving one of said rollers, a guide rolleridisposed at each end or the illuminated course of travel to guide the beltthereby in an edgewise' position, and :a plurality of slender guide members disposed "in vertically spaced relation between said guide rollers on each side of the belt to provide aguide way for supporting the belt in edgewise position as it passes over saidi illuminat'ed course of travel, thereby to reduce the" tension required on the belt to-main'tain it in an edgewise-p0sition "t@ properly display thecharacterslq- ARV- ID JAN SSO N. 

